MARINE SCIENCE 169 
Second, the United States is lagging behind the Union of the Soviet Socialist 
Republics in the important fields of oceanographic underwater research. None 
of our surface oceanographic ships can compare with the recent ships built for 
this purpose by the Russians as any witness can testify who visited the Mikhail 
Lomonosov during its docking in New York City for the first International 
Oceanographic Congress held at the United Nations in September 1959. This 
pride of Russia is the largest (5,960 tons) and some would say the most im- 
maculate oceanographic research ship in the world. Are we going to wait until 
Russia’s scientific achievements in inner space exploration pressure us into 
action as happened in outer space exploration? 
Third, technology is becoming much more complex as a corollary to greater 
complexity. Practically all technologies are fast becoming more interdisci- 
plinary, traditional boundaries between fields are collapsing, but the science of 
oceanography has not kept up with the other sciences in new technological ad- 
vancement; thus cultivating disciplinary disputes as the boundaries between 
oceanography and related science fields are merged. 
We have a long way to go in oceanographic research if we are to accomplish 
in inner space what we have accomplished in outer space. S. 901 provides the 
impetus for those accomplishments. 
But even so, we must recognize that the cost of technological advance is 
rising and from all indications will continue to rise at a disturbing rate due to 
many factors, the major ones being the greater complexity, the highly com- 
petitive demand for technically trained personnel and the general inflationary 
trend. This must be carefully considered when we are discussing a 10-year 
program. 
So, for these three reasons—to elevate oceanographic research to a position of 
primary importance in our Nation’s total research effort, to assure the United 
States of world leadership in the exploration of inner space and to make oceano- 
graphic technology more dynamic—I urge you to authorize the marine sciences 
and research program as stated in 8. 901. 
The ocean has been good to Mississippi. It gives employment to 10,000 
Mississippians and is responsible for approximately 12 percent of our total 
personal income. We extract magnesium from it; we build surface and under- 
water vessels to traverse its great expanses; we process its shrimp, oysters, 
crab, tuna, and menhaden for nationwide consumption, and we are beginning 
to exploit its centuries-old world trade lanes. It is the benefactor of our second 
largest industry—tourism. 
We are located along an 88-miles central section of the northern perimeter of 
the Guif of Mexico—66,000 square miles of water entirely different from the 
Atlantie or Pacific Oceans. Today we know very little about the Gulf of 
Mexico; it has never been studied in any great detail. Here a great river dis- 
charges into a relatively quiet body of water. Sedimentation occurs at a rapid 
rate offering unhampered possibilities for advanced study of earth history. Ab- 
sence of ocean floor currents suggest investigation into the disposal of low-level 
radioactive waste in the sludgey Mississippi River estuaries. Better control 
is afforded over oceanographic sampling and observation techniques in this calm 
portion of the Atlantic Ocean. Only 50 miles apart in Mississippi are two river 
systems, both of which flow into the gulf; one is highly contamined by munici- 
pal and industrial wastes; the other, the direct antithesis. Ecological and 
hydrographical studies of these river systems can establish a basis for intelligent 
appraisal of estuarine problems and properties throughout the Gulf of Mexico 
area. Research in marine chemurgy appears promising and profitable to the 
guif coastal areas. Mississippi realizes the great unexploited potential of our 
ocean and is vitally interested in the furtherance of oceanographic research— 
especially utilization research. 
In this context I would like to offer a few suggestions. 
First, as to the objective, certainly the research under this program must be 
of a useful type. The last thing the country needs is another 500 research 
pamphlets to go on shelves. This is not to say that basic research is unim- 
portant. It is important, but we have problems and the kind of research we 
presently need is the kind which is specifically oriented to these problems. 
What kind of a framework is needed to assure us that we can accomplish this 
kind of research? Responsibilities of the some 17 governmental agencies in- 
volved in S. 901 should be clearly defined, homogeneous and flexible. Disputes 
over which agencies should finance a specific research proposal should not occur 
if responsibility and authority are properly delegated and understood. If there 
